Russian porcelain and faience of the second half of the XVIII — early XX centuries.
Russian porcelain and faience of the second half of the XVIII — early XX centuries.
The virtual exposition “Porcelain Pantry” introduces works from the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Alupka Museum-Reserve”. The museum’s collection includes porcelain, earthenware, ceramic products of various artistic levels, which make up more than 600 items. These are the works of domestic and foreign manufactories of the XVIII – XX centuries. The discovery of European porcelain belongs to Saxon scientists — physicist and mathematician E.V. Chirnhaus and chemist I.F. Betger. In 1710, the first European porcelain manufactory was opened in Albrechtsburg Castle. In 1744, St. Petersburg was founded The Imperial Porcelain Factory, where porcelain was made on the basis of Russian raw materials thanks to the discovery of scientist D.I. Vinogradov. In the XVIII century, porcelain was especially appreciated, it was called “white gold”, in the palaces of Russian and European rulers, the decoration of Porcelain rooms and cabinets was especially admired. Appeared since the middle of the XVIII century . porcelain sets were stored in separate “Service Storerooms” and porcelain was used on “special” occasions. In the 19th century, porcelain was more part of the everyday life of society. The Worontsov nobles managed to create a palace and park complex in Alupka, skillfully organize their way of life, leaving a significant place for porcelain. Porcelain decorated the lives of the owners of the palace in Alupka and served daily needs. For the Worontsovs, porcelain is an object of everyday life, festive banquets, as well as individual accents in the ceremonial halls of the palace.
The modern collection of the museum was formed due to receipts in the 1920s and 30s from the manor palaces of the South bank, transfers of state grants in the 1950s and from later acquisitions and gifts. The Porcelain Pantry exposition introduces tableware and decorative vases made by the Imperial Porcelain Factory and Russian private factories. In the Blue Living Room of the Worontsov Palace in Alupka, you can see paired decorative vases made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg in the 1830s. These crater-shaped vases are richly decorated with gilding, relief ornaments and ornaments made in the tsirovka technique. The body of the vases is decorated with a painting depicting seascapes, made by the plant’s painter P. Shchetinin based on the originals of the Dutch marine artist I.H. Schotel (1787-1838). At that time, porcelain artists often copied paintings from the Imperial Hermitage, and the collection of Nicholas I included more than thirty paintings by I.H. Schotel. In 1916, especially for the last owners of the Alupka estate, Counts Worontsov-Dashkov at the factory A significant number of dishes were made by the Kornilov Brothers’ association in St. Petersburg. Several items from this set have been preserved. Their simple decor consists of a blue lining, a medallion with the initials “E V D” (i.e. Elizabeth Vorontsova-Dashkova), the inscription “Alupka” under the image of the count’s crown. The dish from this set is on display at the stationary exposition “House of Count A.P. Shuvalov”. The rest of the works of Russian porcelain, which can be seen in the “Porcelain Pantry”, are kept in the funds of the State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Alupka Museum-Reserve”.
Senior researcher
O.A. Vasilyeva